The Paradise Trilogy by Ted Dekker

Author:Ted Dekker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2012-04-21T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

HE WASN’T sure, he said. His mind had entered a strange place, and he didn’t know what had happened, because he really, really didn’t want his bullet to kill the president. But he would now make it right. He would; he swore he would.

Kelly’s worst fears were realized half an hour later when an NBC reporter giving a live report on location at Central Park was cut off by the anchor.

“. . . was here on this platform, where a forensic team is still looking for the bullet that—”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Susan, but we have a live update on the president’s condition. Reuters is reporting that the president of the United States has survived the assassination attempt that took place an hour and a half ago. I repeat, it appears that the president has survived the attempt on his life. The report goes on to say that the bullet resulted in flesh wounds only.”

Kelly stared at the screen, disbelieving. “How’s that possible?”

Kelly muted the television and sat on the bed, stunned. Kalman would receive the news soon enough, if he hadn’t already. It would be the end.

Behind her, Carl remained silent.

“Do you know what this means?” she asked.

“That I’ve failed,” he said. “But I can fix it.”

She stood with her back to him. “Agotha will know.”

“She’ll know what?”

“That your failure was intentional.”

“I don’t even know that!”

Kelly could feel her world collapsing around her. So much training, so many hard nights—in one moment, gone. Both she and Carl were now expendable.

Was this also part of the plan? She sometimes found it difficult to determine what was real and what was part of the game.

She looked at Carl, who was still staring at the silent news broadcast. “You affected the bullet’s trajectory the same way you have been for the last two weeks.”

He refused to look at her.

“Today you placed the bullet precisely where it had to travel to knock him down without killing him. We taught you more about the anatomy of the kill zones in the human body than most medical students ever learn. Now you’ve used that information to save your target. And by doing so, you’ve signed our death warrants.”

“We don’t know that,” he said. “If it was intentional, I would remember.”

“Then what do you remember?”

“That I didn’t want the president to die. I thought that the old man behind him might be my father. Or that the president himself might be. I was confused and knew that Agotha had probably put these ideas in my head to test me. As you said.”

“But you couldn’t overcome the confusion?”

“I thought I had.”

She sighed and closed her eyes. “It doesn’t matter. Kalman will assume that you’ve countermanded his order to kill. He will never accept such a failure.”

Her cell phone chirped.

“That will be him.” Kelly picked up the phone. “Yes.”

Kalman’s distant, gravelly voice spoke into her ear. “I see he missed.”

“Yes. We’re working on a third attempt.”

The phone hissed.

“Carl’s leading the son of the president’s adviser—”

“I don’t want the details,” Kalman said.

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